A new way to see Manhattan

With photo from topoftherocknyc.com website, showing the view to the north over Central Park.
The viewing deck is in the midst of many popular Manhattan attractions.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NEW YORK -- A newly reopened, three-tiered skyscraper observation deck offers a spectacular and panoramic view of the city and its environs from a convenient Midtown Manhattan location.
The spacious deck, known as Top of the Rock, offers unobstructed indoor and outdoor views in all directions beginning at the 67th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
The deck opened in 1933, when Rockefeller Center was new, and had been off-limits to the public for 20 years before being renovated for its Nov. 1, 2005, reopening.
The reopening gives tourists an alternative to the Empire State Building, which had offered the city's only public skyscraper observation deck since the World Trade Center collapsed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Even on Thanksgiving eve, which heralds a peak tourist season, lines were short and the Top of the Rock was accessible within a few minutes.
After a quick security screening by a friendly and courteous staff and a short introductory video, visitors were whisked to the uncrowded observation platform in glass-ceilinged elevators, known as Summit Shuttles.
Stunning views
The views to the north included Central Park, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Riverside Church bell tower and the George Washington Bridge. Even part of the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River 25 miles to the north was visible.
From the south side of the deck, visitors could clearly see the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. There were also good views of Long Island to the east and New Jersey to the west, making the experience well worth the $14 adult admission charge. (Admission for senior citizens is $12, and children 6 to 11 are admitted for $9.)
For those who don't arrive with their own binoculars, coin-operated binoculars are posted at various points on the deck. In the outdoor areas, visitors are partially shielded from the wind by tall, clear, nonreflective glass panels.
Besides being centrally located, Top of the Rock is advantageous because it is open from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, making it easy to fit into any busy tourist's sightseeing schedule.
Rockefeller Center sights
Visitors can plan an entire day at Rockefeller Center, observing the early morning live broadcast of NBC's "Today Show" before taking tours of various attractions within the complex.
NBC studio tours and guided walking tours of the Rockefeller Center complex depart at frequent intervals from the NBC Experience Store at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Guided tours are also available at Radio City Music Hall, home of the annual Christmas show featuring the Rockettes.
Rockefeller Center also houses numerous shops, both on the street level and in an extensive and comfortably heated underground concourse network. Food is available on the concourse level near the center's famous sunken outdoor ice skating rink. The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree towers over the rink in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
For more information and reservations, go to www.topoftherocknyc.com. The center's toll-free telephone number is (877) NYC-ROCK.